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All six plants have grown taller than I’d like. So, I’ve pinched them back a bit (removed the new growing tip from each plant), something I learned about when I used to dabble in bonsai. I also raised the light again.

The first photo below shows the plants before starting these procedures. The second and third show a plant before pinching and the same plant after being pinched. The fourth shows the plants put back in place with the light raised.

Raised the grow light by three chain links to accommodate the height of the plants. Every week or so, I’ve been adjusting the timer on the light to more-or-less correspond to sunrise and sunset. As of this evening, it will go on at 7 am and off at 8 pm.

Evening: the seedlings have grown a bit leggy and are starting to require support (see the first photo below), most likely a consequence of insufficient light compared to the temperature inside the room. This might correct itself once the plants are moved outside but, for now, I have staked them with bamboo shish kabab sticks and string (see the second photo below).

As you can see in the photo below, all six plants are doing well and there is no significant difference between the two groups, allowing for the fact that there will be variation and the numbers are few. The three on the left are the ones receiving kettle-boiled water while the three on the right are getting microwaved water.

Germination has begun in all six containers. Now that things have reached the stage at which light may make a noticeable difference, I have rotated the container 180 degrees and will do so daily from this point on.

I recently became aware of a web page that purports to show the difference between watering plants with water that has been heated in a microwave and water boiled by more traditional means. Supposedly, the plant that was fed the microwaved water died while the other did not. You can see that page here.

Naturally, I went to Snopes to see if they’d looked into it. They had and, as I expected, they considered the claim to be false. You can see their page about it here.

The Canadian Minister of Public Safety, Vic Toews, who is championing a bill to allow warrantless police access to personal online information, apparently wants to know everything about us. So, we Canadians, being so polite and respectful, are cooperating by telling him everything.